MAM
DDB Mudra Group outlines structure to push growth
MUMBAI: Omnicom‘s big push in India continues as it wants to dig deep into the fast-growing emerging markets amid slowdown worries in the U.S. and Europe. Completing 100 days of integration since acquiring majority stake in the Anil-Ambani promoted Mudra Group, it has chalked out a growth map in an important market where it lags behind rivals such as WPP.
DDB Mudra Group, the new name, will now operate in India through eight branded agencies including Mudra. The other agencies are DDB Mudra, DDB MudraMax, DDB Health & Lifestyle, RAPP, Tribal DDB India, Water and Maatra.
A new growth area will be the India entry of TrackyLocke, DDB‘s shopper marketing agency, in partnership with Mudra Max. Realising the significance of the market with the explosion of retail, TracyLocke has identified India as a gateway to the Asian region.
DDB Group aggressively wants to grow in the Asia Pacific region and has pursued the acquisition route to support its organic growth.
“We are growing faster than our rivals such as WPP in this region. The Asia Pacific region is the only one that is seeing a significant increase in business, and we are fully committed to growing our offerings here,” said DDB Group Asia Pacific, Japan and India chairman and CEO John Zeigler, while speaking to reporters at a roundtable to announce the launch here today.
The Asia Pacific region contributes 11 per cent to the revenues of the DDB Group, trailing behind Europe (44%) and North America (38%). The growth potential in the region, however, is huge and ad conglomerates like WPP and Publicis Groupe are snapping up companies to tap new revenues.
As part of the restructuring, Water, the strategic branding and design consultancy, will represent Omnicom‘s brand consultancy Interbrand in India.
The thrust will be on integrating the group‘s offerings in India as well as with specialist agency brands for their expertise from across markets.
“40 per cent of our mainstream advertising clients are accessing more than one service from the network in India. With such specialised offerings and expertise, we intend to grow this,” said DDB Mudra Group CEO and managing director Madhukar Kamath.
What is the need of having two creative agency brands? Explained Kamath, “Both DDB Mudra and Mudra will divide the clients according to the relationships they have with them. Longstanding brands like LIC that have been associated with Mudra will continue to be with it.”
The organisation structure has been simplified to meet the new needs. The executive board of the group will consist of Kamath, Pratap Bose (DDB Mudra Group chief operating officer) and Sonal Dabral (DDB Mudra Group chairman and CCO). Dabral, who quit Bates India, will assume charge on 1 March.
“With Dabral coming on board, we are poised to become a new power in Indian advertising. The most important thing is that we have raised our creative profile,” said Ziegler.
While Rajiv Sabnis will head the Mumbai operations, Vandana Das will be head of Delhi and Rajni Cherian will operate as EVP and head Mudra South. Sabnis and Cherian are already on board while Das will assume her post on 19 March.
TracyLocke India will be managed by Pratap Bose, DDB Mudra Group chief operating officer.
Said Bose, “The entry of TracyLocke complements the DDB MudraMax ‘feet-on-the-street‘ strengths and given our huge footprint in
India, I believe that the TracyLocke India model will certainly add value to both our global and retail brands.”
TracyLocke‘s roster of clients include HP, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, Gatorade, Tropicana, PepsiCo, Sony and Unilever‘s Lipton.
Said TracyLocke global chief marketing officer Jim Sexton, “Once we saw the level of retail expertise and comprehensive knowledge of the India consumer and shopper at DDB MudraMax, we knew we had the perfect fit. We look forward to delivering to our clients a unique brand of shopper marketing relevant to each segment of the Indian market. Additionally, we hope to share proprietary marketing tools that we can take from India to the rest of the world.”
Water, as part of the global Interbrand network, will continue to be headed by Ashish Mishra.
Said Kamath, “Water is no stranger to Interbrand. In fact, Ashish has worked closely with Interbrand on some of its projects in India. We are very excited that the best in India is teaming up with the best in the world in order to provide best in class business solutions to our clients in India.”
Apple rarely announces minor updates with much fanfare, and iOS 26.4 is no exception. No dramatic redesigns, no flashy keynote moments. What it delivers instead is a focused set of improvements that sharpen the experience you already have. If that sounds underwhelming, spend a week with it. You will change your mind.
Apple Music Learns to Listen Better
The biggest shift in this update lives inside Apple Music. Apple has brought AI-powered playlist generation to the app, and it works on mood rather than genre. Type something like “rainy evening at home” or “running late on a Monday,” and it builds a playlist that actually fits. This is not algorithmic guesswork dressed up in new clothing. It genuinely reads the intent behind vague descriptions and responds well.
Alongside this, a new concerts feature scans your listening history and surfaces live events happening near you. It is a smart bridge between your digital music habits and real-world experiences. Apple is quietly making the case that a music app should do more than just play songs.
Shazam also gets a meaningful upgrade. It can now identify songs without an internet connection. This might sound like a minor convenience, but anyone who has tried to Shazam something at a crowded venue with patchy signal will tell you it is anything but minor. The feature works locally on-device, which also means it is faster.
CarPlay Gets Smarter Controls
CarPlay has been updated with deeper integration for intelligent voice assistants. The goal is to reduce how often drivers need to look at a screen or tap anything at all. You speak, things happen. It is a clear step toward making the driving experience safer without stripping away functionality. The integration feels natural rather than bolted on, which is a harder thing to achieve than it sounds.
The Fixes You Feel Every Day
This is where iOS 26.4 earns its keep. Keyboard responsiveness has been improved, and the difference is noticeable immediately. Typing feels more accurate and less combative. Accessibility features have been refined across the board, with better contrast options and adjusted spacing that makes the interface easier to read without forcing you into larger text sizes.
The Health app has also been updated. It now surfaces more actionable insights from your daily data rather than just displaying numbers. If your sleep patterns have shifted or your activity levels have changed, the app now contextualises that clearly instead of leaving you to interpret raw figures on your own.
These are the kinds of changes that do not photograph well for a press release. They also happen to be the ones that make your phone feel genuinely better to use.
A Few Other Additions
New emojis have been added in this update. They will find their way into your conversations faster than you expect. Family Sharing has also been updated, with more granular control over shared payments and subscriptions. If you share an Apple account with family members, this puts clearer limits on who can spend what, which has been a long-requested fix.
What This Update Actually Represents
iOS 26.4 is Apple doing what it does best when it is not trying to make headlines. Every addition here serves a clear purpose. The AI music features are genuinely useful. The CarPlay improvements address a real safety concern. The small UI fixes accumulate into a noticeably smoother daily experience.
There is no bloat. Nothing feels experimental or half-finished. That discipline is harder to maintain than it looks, especially as operating systems grow more complex with each passing year.
If you have been holding off on updating, this is the one worth installing.
